SMS marketing for holiday shoppers

The rush of holiday shopping is nearing its peak this week. As people wade through the frenzy and chaos of trying to find the perfect gift, a text message from your store might be just what they need. At least that’s what a study form MarketLive might be telling us.

Their study focuses on mobile users and what it is they want from retailers this shopping season. The results are encouraging – and exciting – for any retailer who connects with customers using a mobile device.

While the study covers many different aspects of mobile marketing, I want to focus here on the ones related to SMS. After all, there are a few days left before Christmas, which is plenty of time to get together an SMS campaign to reach those last minute shoppers. But some of the other aspects of mobile examined by Marketlive would take a bit longer to implement. Unless of course you already have aisle maps available in an app for your store. You don’t? Then let’s get back to what you can do with SMS.

One of the hardest things about SMS marketing is getting the information you need from your customers – their mobile number at a minimum. People are generally guarded about giving out their personal numbers, but that might be changing. MarketLive found that  55% of people surveyed felt comfortable sharing their information and preferences with marketers  – if they got something in return. In general people thought it was worth sharing when doing so offered them convenience and personalised product recommendations.

“Text alerts are now an accepted way to receive coupons and promotions,” says Ken Burke, CEO of Marketlive , “and personalised product suggestions based on prior purchases or online viewing patterns are now expected.”

That last sentence is a pretty bold statement. While there’s a convenience factor to getting personalised suggestions, there’s also a creepy factor when it’s obvious the suggestion came because the company knows what you’ve been doing online. It’s a fine line really, but the data appears to show more and more people are accepting what good it can do, rather than worry what can be learned about them. Privacy is losing out to convenience. That’s a good thing for marketers, as long as they protect and manage the data they gather appropriately (or else be subject to a PR  and legal nightmare).

Another trend the study found is how text messages impact in-store shopping. For example, 78% of respondents are likely to visit a store after they receive an SMS alert prior to their going to the shops. The article on the study doesn’t make it clear whether those 78% were already planning to go shopping or if the messages prompted the shopping trip, but either way, sending an SMS message got those people into the store.

Another 69% want in-store text messages sent to them. This means they’re comfortable with the store knowing they are there, and then triggering a special text message for them while they are shopping. This is a special case of localised SMS marketing that can be implemented in a variety of ways.